1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an exercise apparatus, and more particularly to an elliptical exercise apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional elliptical exercise apparatus includes a frame unit 1, a crank wheel unit 2 mounted on the frame unit 1 and that has two crank arms 201, and two swing units 3 disposed respectively on left and right sides of the frame unit 1. Each swing unit 3 includes a handle 301 connected pivotally to the frame unit 1, a pedal rod 302 connected pivotally to and disposed between a bottom end of the handle 301 and one of the crank arms 201, and a foot plate 303 fixed to a central portion of the pedal rod 302. Through such a connection, the user's feet can travel along an elliptical path during exercise.
However, since the foot plates 303 can only travel along a fixed elliptical path, only a specific muscle group of the user can be exercised. Further, since the pedal rod 302 of each swing unit 3 has front and rear ends connected pivotally and respectively to the handle 301 and one of the crank arms 201, the stride length of the pedal rod 302 is limited by the length of the respective crank arm 201. Moreover, since the foot plates 303 are fixed respectively to the pedal rods 302 of the swing units 3, the foot plates 303 can only move simultaneously with the pedal rods 302. Thus, even if the crank arms 201 are spaced apart from each other by an angle of 180°, the largest stride length that each foot plate 303 can travel will not exceed the distance between ends of the crank arms 201 (that is, the stride length is equal to about the sum of the lengths of the crank arms 201). This limits the extent of the stride length of the user's feet and negatively affects the user's exercise.